a commentary in thursday's papers caught my attention. if you have the straits times, it's on page 21...in the bottom corner. the man is an american science fiction writer..and the most striking bit of his commentary is the last line, "Competence doesn't seem like a big deal until you are forced to realise that your own government has none." this is in light of the Hurricane Katrina devastation of New Orleans. we are at the mercy of Mother Nature, but so many people dismiss it, or view it to be of lower priority. yet it never occurs to these people the level of devastation and destruction a natural disaster can cause..and very often..though nothing can be done to prevent them, much could have been done to minimise the casualty rate..or damage on infrastructure. it makes sense to build lower buildings in earthquake-zone areas. so much technology is available such that we can predict, almost always accurately, when and where disaster strikes. we just have to decide which is more important. non-existent weapons of mass destruction in iraq, or the lives of thousands, regardless of their skin colour. where do we channel the money and manpower? into further tearing up an already torn country? or trying our best to save the lives of the innocent, who may not have the necessary resources to save themselves? how many more devastations do we need before we learn? there is duality in everything. nature is beautiful, the sights and sounds available to us cannot be matched..but also, the level of devastation possible can only be matched by the very worst weapons humankind has invented.
take a minute and remember the victims, but also remember the survivors who can now only wait.
